Blind
by iflip4dolphins
Summary: When somebody loses their sight, the other four senses sharpen to compensate. Edge/Rydia
1. Sight

_Disclaimer: I sent away for the rights, but they haven't come yet._

* * *

**Sight**

Rydia paused just outside the door and swallowed, failing to get her fear and worry pushed down past the lump in her throat. Four days had passed since Edge had returned, battered and bloody, stumbling over every step as though he was too tired to lift his feet. Three days had gone by since Izayoi had reached a point where sleep was more effective than healing poultices and had allowed her to see him. And yesterday – yesterday she'd learned that Edge would never be the same again.

She drew a steadying breath, trying to regain her composure and courage, and slowly pushed open the door.

Edge was awake. He sat on the side of the bed, hands resting in his lap. For somebody who had nearly died four days ago, he actually didn't look all that bad, she tried to tell herself. The blood was all cleaned up now, and though he sported some brilliant bruises and areas where bandages were going to have to be changed for a while yet, blood wasn't splotching the linen red, and she didn't even smell the coppery tang in the air anymore.

Still, none of this was a comfort to her. Despite her attempts to ignore it, her eyes were drawn towards his face, where a length of clean bandages wound around his face, covering his eyes.

Edge turned to look in her direction. "You have to be the loudest thinker I know," he teased gently, his unmasked lips quirking slightly. When she didn't respond, Edge sighed. "Don't just stand there, Rydia. At least come in if you're going to gawk."

"I don't gawk," Rydia protested before she could stop herself. The smirk returned to Edge's face, and she was sure that one eyebrow was raised, even though she couldn't actually see them.

"She speaks."

She rolled her eyes out of habit, shut the door, and sat next to him on the bed. "How did you do it?" the summoner finally asked quietly.

"Do what?"

"Know it was me."

Edge chuckled. To Rydia's practiced ear, it sounded forced. "Ninja, remember?"

Rydia narrowed her eyes at him. "That isn't an answer."

His shoulders rose and fell in a shrug, but he didn't say anything. Rydia sighed, knowing that, for once, Edge wasn't trying to tease her. Slowly, carefully, she ran her hand over his thigh, placed it on one of his hands, and tangled their fingers together. He tensed at the initial contact, obviously not expecting it, and gripped her hand tightly. "It's so dark, Rydia," Edge finally whispered, turning to face her, pain etched into the corners of his mouth.

Rydia blinked rapidly to get rid of the water in her eyes. "I know," she whispered, drawing her blind husband into a tight hug. "I know."


	2. Touch

_Disclaimer: If somebody could give me the rights for Valentine's Day, that'd be awesome._

* * *

**Touch**

Adapting was hard, but not as hard as he'd feared. Years of ninja training had an unexpected benefit – a superb balance that Edge had never really appreciated before now. It kept his footing sure, and his own caution kept him from falling up or down stairs, and usually from walking into walls. There'd been a few incidents, but thankfully, nobody had witnessed them. It was embarrassing enough, having to stumble around his own castle. He didn't want or need anybody to know just how hard it was.

That didn't mean that they didn't know. He had a cane now, something that Edge had complained about heartily in the beginning, but had grudgingly accepted and even acknowledged the necessity of. And it was necessary. The first time he'd walked straight into a corner had told him that much.

It was galling to realize that he'd actually rebuilt the castle and still didn't know his way around it.

Though everyone in the castle had noticed, they were smart enough not to offer help that wasn't wanted. With the sole exception of Izayoi, who just grabbed him by the shoulders and steered him to where he needed to go, telling him brusquely where he was at that point in time and giving him directions as she pushed him around. Thankfully, Rydia had put a stop to that. Edge loved his cousin, really, but she was – oh, what was the word? _Irritating_.

Though having to be led around his own castle was still frustrating, Edge found that it was a lot more tolerable when Rydia was the one doing the leading. Not to mention entertaining. By this point, she knew the castle fairly well, but she wasn't an expert by any means, and more often than not, an excursion to figure out how to get to a specific area ended up in being lost for hours. Luckily, even though Edge didn't know how to get from point A to point B, it was easy enough for him to tell Rydia how to get back to a place that she knew once he knew where they were.

Oh, how he missed visual landmarks.

Next to him, Rydia stopped walking. He paused next to her, one hand lightly clasped around her upper arm, fingers slipping against the soft cotton of her dress. "Something wrong?" he asked lightly.

She hesitated before answering, chagrined, "I think I'm lost. Again."

He chuckled quietly, and was rewarded with a sigh that was likely accompanied by an eye roll. "It's not funny," she muttered.

"Of course it is." Edge smiled at her. "The directionally challenged leading the blind."

"Keep it up and I'll just leave you here," Rydia threatened.

"What? I speak nothing but the truth."

"Unfortunately."

"Would you prefer me to lie?"

"Or maybe I'll just give you back to Izayoi," Rydia mused. "At least she isn't _directionally challenged_."

"I'd rather have a beautiful, lost guide over my irritating cousin who thinks that blunt force trauma solves problems any day," Edge retorted loftily, hoping to get a laugh out of his wife. He almost succeeded, if the quiet choking sound she made was any indication, but Rydia sadly controlled herself before he could hear a sound that he hadn't heard in far too long.

The silence that fell was anything but comfortable, and Edge was nearly about to break it when Rydia cleared her throat. "And just how would you know?" she asked, evidently trying to be light-hearted, but was unable to disguise the heavy tones. "What if I've been horribly disfigured or – I don't know – fell victim to a horrible accident that left me without a nose or something?"

Edge blinked. "Without a nose?"

She huffed. "You know what I mean."

The ninja paused, then sighed and completely turned to face her, sliding his hands up her arms until he reached her shoulders. "May I?" he asked quietly, uncertain as to what her reply would be. To make sure she knew what he was talking about, he lifted one hand tentatively to touch her cheek; beneath his fingers, she shivered, then nodded.

With her permission granted, he began.

Edge slid the hand still on her shoulder across the hollow where her shoulder and neck met, reveling in the softness of her skin as the cotton ended, and let his fingers dance up her lovely neck. Once both hands were on her cheeks, he slowly explored her face with gentle, calloused fingers, following her elegant cheekbones and tucking flyaway strands of her hair behind her ears, which he then traced with a single fingertip.

She was warm to the touch, her skin soft and inviting, his fingers painting a topographical picture of her features for him. His fingers traveled over her closed eyelids, brushing over soft, long eyelashes, smoothed over the tip of her nose, and caressed her lips with his thumb, parting them gently before he cupped her cheek and dainty jawline with his other hand and bent to kiss her.

"You're just as beautiful as I remember," he whispered against her lips.

He didn't have to see the smile that curved her lips against his to know that it was beautiful.


	3. Scent

_Disclaimer: What makes you think anything's changed between this chapter and the last one?_

* * *

**Scent**

Rydia collapsed into the chair with a sigh, letting her head rest on the table, cushioned by her arms. She wasn't out of shape, but Izayoi had still run circles around her, and casting so many spells in a row had done a number on her throat. She didn't look up until the clink of somebody setting down a teacup on the table caught her attention and she raised herself up on her elbows to take the cup of steaming liquid into her hands. Zangetsu smiled at her, patted her shoulder, and left when she nodded in thanks and sipped at the tea.

Eblanese tea was subtler than most, and while she occasionally missed the explosions of flavor that Fabul or Baronian tea offered, Rydia found that the quiet hints of mint, lavender, and something called 'chai' were soothing and tastier than she had initially expected. Across from her, pages ruffled, and Rydia looked across the rim of the porcelain cup to see Edge running his fingers along the pages of what looked like a new book. She sighed again, and, in a futile attempt to mask it, brought the cup back to her lips.

His blindness, still so new, was difficult on all of them. She hated seeing him like this; fumbling around the castle that he used to be able to find every nook and cranny of, never knowing where he was or who was around him, though the latter had proven to be less of a problem as time went on, and he'd always known whenever she was near. After a week of wincing whenever Edge stumbled or ran into something, she'd gotten him a cane. Embarrassing though it was for him, Edge had reluctantly accepted it, and the slim white walking stick now rested against the arm of his chair. It had proven its worth several times over, and Rydia smiled into her teacup as she remembered a purpose that the cane had developed that she'd never before considered - Edge had wacked Tsukinowa with it when the younger ninja had tried to sneak around and surprise him.

Edge's head turned slightly to face her completely and the corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled underneath the mask. "Did you enjoy yourself?" he asked lightly, eyes fixed on her own, sending agreeable tingles down her spine despite the fact that she knew he couldn't see her.

For a while, he'd worn the bandages. Rydia suspected that it was mostly to keep Izayoi quiet rather than concern for his injuries. Soon enough, however, the bandages had come off, the mask had returned, and for a while, Rydia hadn't been able to look at his face without crying.

She was used to it now, but all the time in the world would never change the way that Edge could look right through her soul even without his sight.

With a start, Rydia realized that she'd been staring, and she broke the gaze by leaning back in her chair and glancing down at her tea as she shifted position to make sure it didn't spill. "No," she replied wryly, getting a chuckle out of him.

"What, hurling lightning bolts at Izayoi isn't your favorite pastime?" Edge teased.

"She wanted to spar." Rydia closed her eyes. "Never again will I agree to the whims of your cousin," she vowed.

"Please tell me you hit her at least once."

Rydia opened her eyes just in time to see him tug his mask down to his neck with skilled, nimble fingers. "Edge," she reprimanded – then stopped. Her brows furrowed. "Edge," she began, slowly.

"That's my name. Don't wear it out." Without the mask, she could properly see his smile, but her thoughts left her unable to appreciate the way it softened his face.

"How did you know I was using thundara?" Rydia asked, curious.

Instead of replying, Edge raised his arms and held his hands out to her, palms upward. She considered him for a moment before relenting, setting the tea down on the table and slowly rising from her chair to meet him at the other side of the small, circular table, taking his hands in hers. His eyes drifted shut and he pulled her closer even as he stood, bending his head to touch his nose to her neck. She heard him breathe in deeply, and when he exhaled, his warm breath sent a shiver up her spine. "Edge –"

"Magic," he murmured, his lips brushing against her skin. "You smell of the crackling energy that lightning leaves behind in a summer storm."

He drew back, much to her disappointment, and raised an eyebrow. "Did that answer your question?"

"Yes." That said, Rydia slid her hands out of his, cupped his face, and pulled him down into a kiss.

"Electrifying," he whispered when they parted.

Rydia agreed wholeheartedly.


	4. Taste

_Disclaimer: As always, I own nada. _

* * *

**Taste**

Rydia had a bad habit of disappearing when she was upset. It wasn't something that he'd really noticed before, but after their marriage, it became increasingly obvious. Usually she'd try to hide beneath a veneer of exasperation and turn to familiar banter to ignore whatever it was that was bothering her, but on occasion, Rydia would just vanish, and reappear again hours later as if nothing had happened. Nonetheless, her reddened eyes spoke the truth. Though Edge never knew where she went – and after learning the reasons behind her rare disappearances, never tried to find out – he always coaxed her into talking about it later.

All of which meant that when Edge stumbled into the small garden that Rydia had begun to cultivate and found her crying, soaked in the rain that had been falling all day, he wasn't entirely certain what to do. He stood there for what seemed like forever as Rydia choked on her tears, trying, and failing, to act like nothing was wrong. "Rydia." It was Edge who finally broke the silence, pitching his voice low and soft to keep her from bolting, something that he knew she was all too likely to do. "What's wrong?"

He could hear her swallow. "Wrong?" Her voice quavered slightly as she tried for a light reply. The slight falter in her response gave the game away entirely. "N-nothing's wrong."

Edge bit back a sigh and stepped towards her, catching her chin between his fingers and using his hand as a reference point. He dipped his head and pressed his lips chastely to her cheek, curving his hand to her opposite cheek as he did so. Drawing back slowly, Edge flicked his tongue over his lips once. Rainwater tried to douse it, and the faint sweetness of Rydia's skin polluted it, but there was no mistaking the traces of salt her skin left on his lips. "You've been crying," he pointed out softly.

She shuddered. "Have not," she whispered, rebellious.

"Have so."

"Have –" Rydia cut herself off. He could practically feel her glaring at him. "Stop it."

"You started it," he pointed out in a perfectly reasonable tone.

She huffed and pulled back from him, a strategic move designed to hide her sniffle. It didn't work. "How do you always know?" she finally asked.

The corners of his lips rose faintly and he tapped them with one finger. "Salt, Rydia."

"Salt?"

He nodded. "Your cheek tastes of salt. Not even the rain can hide that." Edge paused for a moment. "So I ask you again; what's wrong?"

For a moment, Rydia didn't react as she processed the information. Then, evidentially giving up any hope of concealing her cries, she hurled herself into his arms, hugging him tightly as she sobbed into his chest. Edge returned her hug, though at a pressure less likely to crack ribs, and rubbed her back soothingly with one hand while he stroked her wild hair with the other. He had no idea how long she cried, but long after her sobs had reduced to sniffles and shuddering breaths, they remained in the garden, her grip looser as she snuggled up against him, drawing comfort from his presence.

"It's nothing, really," she finally murmured. Edge waited for the rest of her statement, and sure enough, after a sigh, it came. "It just… everything just hit me, and I –" she broke off to draw a deep breath. "It just hit me, that's all."

"I hope it didn't leave any bruising."

She laughed weakly. "I don't think it hit me hard enough for that."

He hummed in agreement and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. After a moment, Rydia sighed again and twisted in his arms so that her back pressed against his chest. "I'm sorry," she offered quietly. "Everything just sort of came down on me at once. I'm all right now."

"Good." Edge considered asking as to what 'everything' entailed, but had a feeling that he'd be rebuffed. Besides, most of it probably had to do with him, and he didn't especially want another reminder as to how his sight was lost now. "Do me a favor and stay that way, would you?"

This time, her laugh was true, and it coaxed a smile from his lips. "Oh, I'll be more than all right soon enough," she replied mysteriously. "Will that do?"

"Only if you promise to tell me just what you meant by that."

He could hear the smile in her reply. "Eventually."


	5. Sound

_Disclaimer: I do not, and I never will, own FFIV._

_A/N: The final chapter. This is the first multi-chap story that I've ever completed, and it wouldn't have happened without you lovely readers. Thank you SO much for your support. This was lots of fun to write, and I hope it was fun to read. Without further ado, I bring you the conclusion._

* * *

**Sound**

Baron was crowded this time of year. Despite the fact that she and Edge were technically there for the gathering of the heroes and whatever political messes Cecil wanted to dig into this year, for the rest of Baron, today was just a celebration of life and love. The world had been saved – and the Baronians, like the rest of the world, weren't about to let such a good opportunity for a festival go to waste. The marketplace was full of hagglers and laughter, musicians played at street corners, and several makeshift stages had been set up for dancing and competitions. There was even a street set aside for chocobo racing.

Therefore, Baron was noisy.

It wasn't much better inside the castle. Rosa and Cecil's children were reaching that age where they were loud and obnoxious, and worse yet, they could _run_. They weren't the only children around, either; the children of nobles and servants alike played together today, and they were constantly getting underfoot. Palom wasn't helping matters. He had joined in their games, and egged them on shamelessly, all while alternately running from his sister or trying to convince her to join in the fun.

By the time the second day rolled around, Rosa had managed to corner Rydia and had pulled her aside to a relatively quiet corner of the castle for tea and conversation. They kept the talk light and comfortable at first, but Rosa finally stopped dancing around the subject and Rydia reluctantly answered her questions and allowed her to cast libra.

"Well." Rosa ended the spell and smiled at her warmly. "Everything seems to be fine."

Rydia returned the smile. "Thank you. Though I still don't know why you wanted to check. I told you I felt fine."

"Just because you feel fine doesn't mean that everything is fine," Rosa warned. "And this is your first time. Better to be safe than sorry."

She winced, chagrined, and stared down into her rapidly cooling cup of tea. "Sorry."

Rosa brushed off the apology with a wave of her hand and rose to her feet, offering the same hand to Rydia. The summoner glanced up from her tea, smiled, and accepted the help. The two women strolled leisurely down the hall, time not of the essence. It was Rydia who spoke into the comfortable silence, trying not to break it. "Rosa?"

"Yes?"

"What's it like?"

Rosa's mouth twisted into a half-smile. "Painful," she replied wryly, "but amazing."

Rydia considered the answer for a moment as they arrived in the large gathering hall that had been set up as a combination ballroom and dining area. Most of the others were there, but Rydia noted the lack of her husband with only a hint of concern. Palom and Porom were at it again, and young Theo and his siblings weren't being particularly quiet. "It's worth it, then," she decided. Beside her, Rosa laughed.

"Definitely." The elder woman smiled at her and hugged her gently before sighing and directing her attention towards her children. "Those three…"

"Go be a mother," Rydia suggested, amused by the exasperation Rosa showed as she planted her hands on her hips. "I should go find Edge anyway."

"He's not here?"

"No. It's probably too noisy for him right now."

One of Rosa's eyebrows rose, curious despite herself. "It's not that loud."

Rydia chuckled. "Loud and noisy aren't the same thing," she explained. "Besides, this is the first gathering since he lost his vision. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he decided to leave for a while."

Rosa nodded in understanding, but her mouth thinned into a serious line. "You need to tell him, Rydia."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, mother."

"I mean it."

"I know." Rydia nodded. "And I will. I promise."

"Good. Go find that husband of yours." Rosa's face softened and she aimed another smile towards Rydia before the queen of Baron set off to separate her children, who were arguing over something simultaneously, their voices melding into a cacophony of sounds and syllables. She watched them for a while as Rosa got right into the thick of things to sort it out, and when Theo and Sophia finally apologized, glaring all the while, Rydia took her leave.

* * *

Edge had no idea where he was. It was quiet, though, and it was outside, and that was all he really cared about. He was fairly certain he'd stumbled into one of the castle's many courtyards, thanks to the scent of flowers that had assaulted him as soon as he'd stepped outside, but he'd gotten used to the overpowering smell and sat, relaxed, on a stone bench.

It was nice out here, he decided. Despite the fact that it was still midmorning, it was cool, and he wondered if the courtyard was covered. The noise that he'd come out here to escape from had receded to faint strains of laughter and the occasional, muffled, high-pitched shriek of a child. Noise from the streets of Baron didn't reach here, for which he was devoutly thankful. He didn't want to find a new hiding place, not when this one was so pleasant.

Familiar footsteps sounded nearby, drawing closer to him and stopping by a pillar that he'd discovered when he was trying to find some place to sit down. "So this is where you went." He could hear the grin in Rydia's voice, and it brought an answering one to his face as he twisted to look in her direction.

"It was noisy," he replied simply, holding out a hand. "Join me?"

"That's what I thought." Her hand brushed against his in acknowledgement of his request, and a moment later Rydia settled down next to him, leaning comfortably into his side. "It's nice out here," she said after a moment.

"Where is 'here', anyway?" Edge wanted to know. Rydia laughed.

"One of the courtyards," she replied flippantly. At Edge's exasperated sigh, Rydia relented. "It's on the west side. That's all I really know. It's not like they named these places or anything."

Edge huffed. "They should," he told her seriously, schooling his smile into a line. "Warn innocent passers-by as to just what they'll be experiencing when they come into one of these things. 'The Rose Courtyard'," he added, losing the battle to keep his lips straight, and was rewarded with another bell-chime of laughter.

"There are a lot of roses here," she admitted before she sighed. "Edge…"

"I didn't do it," he replied automatically. She nudged him with her elbow to shut him up, and he complied.

"Actually, you did," she told him pointedly. "Or at least, you definitely had a hand in it."

"Is this leading up to you explaining that thing that you haven't explained yet?"

He hid his grin as Rydia groaned and turned to bury her face in his shoulder. "You're making this difficult," she complained.

Edge chuckled and snaked his arm around her waist. "Take your time," he suggested. "I'm not going anywhere. Those kids are far too noisy for my tastes."

Rydia shifted. "You love kids," she pointed out, sounding uneasy. He nodded agreeably.

"Of course I do. That doesn't stop them from being loud, noisy, irritating little monsters," he replied, matter-of-fact.

His wife sighed and rested her head back on his shoulder. "You'll make a wonderful father," she murmured softly.

As someone who was used to looking underneath the underneath and picking apart people's words and actions to find the true meaning, Edge caught onto her inexpert confession right away, a smile blooming on his face as Rydia finally told him what he'd guessed at weeks ago. "Well," he allowed, rather than break the peace by falling flat on his face in a faint or by whooping in joy, neither option one he was particularly given to anyway, and finding shock to be a boring response, "you _have _been getting rounder."

"Don't make me call Bahamut on you," Rydia grumbled, pushing him half-heartedly. "Why can't you just react normally for a change?"

"Because normal is boring," Edge replied immediately. "Besides, my dear Rydia – you're terrible at keeping secrets."

**_~Fin~_**


End file.
